In her first artist’s book, Tito, Calle turned her attention to the funeral of Josip Broz Tito, who was the prime minister and then president of Yugoslavia from 1943 until his death in 1980. Calle creates a narrative of Tito’s last days through French newspaper clippings, gathered in a small notebook. The headlines progress from disclosure of the politician’s declining health (“Tito in a critical state”), to claims of recovery (“Tito is fine”), to announcement of his passing (“Tito is dead”). The notebook is punctuated with Polaroids that Calle took of her television screen. She then took photographs of the photographs, creating multiple layers of separation from her subject.

Gallery label from

419: Sophie Calle’s The Sleepers, 2026

Medium Artist's book of cut-and-pasted printed papers, gelatin silver prints, and Polaroids
Dimensions 5 × 4 1/4 × 9/16" (12.7 × 10.8 × 1.5 cm)
Publisher Sophie Calle
Edition 10
Credit Gift of Jack Shear in memory of Bob Calle
Object number 687.2022
Department Drawings and Prints

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Sophie Calle

French, born 1953 206 works online

In April 1979, Sophie Calle invited 29 people to occupy her bed. Over eight days, sleepers arrived in shifts—among them bakers recruited from local bakeries, a babysitter from an agency, a woman Calle had met at the market, the artist’s mother, and her younger brother (who brought a friend, a toothbrush, and a set of pajamas).

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